Can't Have You
by LetTheRadioBreakTheSilence
Summary: Nick can't tell his best friend, Miley, how much he loves her. Will he sit back and watch her fall for his own brother? MOE/NILEY.
1. Chapter 1

"So this is it," Miley said, looking around the foyer. "The Jonas' house."

"Yep, this is it," Nick smiled.

Nick and Miley had been best friends for two years, but this was the first time she had ever been to his house. Her parents were really strict and they wouldn't let her go to boys' houses, but now that she had turned sixteen, they lightened up.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"Come on," he said, leading her to the kitchen. He opened the pantry and surveyed the contents. "You're in luck. We've got Oreos _and_ peanut butter."

Miley grinned, sitting down on a barstool at the counter. She pushed a strand of her long, dark, curly hair behind her ear. "You know me so well."

He looked away from her so she wouldn't see that he was blushing. Of course he remembered what her favorite snack was; he remembered everything she ever told him. He had fallen in love with her the day they met. He had never known someone so funny, so smart, so sweet, so stunningly beautiful.

It was for all those reasons he couldn't tell her how he felt. He couldn't stand the thought of telling her and freaking her out; he'd rather secretly love her and be her best friend than not have her in his life at all.

Nick took a deep breath before going over to the counter next to her. He opened the pack of Oreos and sat down on the stool next to her. "Do you want to go to the beach later?"

"Yeah!" she replied through a mouthful of Oreo.

"Hey, Ni…" Joe started as he walked into the kitchen. He trailed off when he saw Miley. "Hi, I'm Joe."

Miley smiled. "I'm Miley."

"Nicky's told me all about you," he told her, leaning against the counter across from her.

Miley giggled. Nick didn't like the look she was giving his older brother. It was the way he always wished she would look at _him_.

"Um, Joe, did you need something?"

"Oh, yeah," Joe tore his eyes away from Miley. "I was going to make some popcorn. I'm going to watch a movie."

"What movie?" Miley asked.

"The Fast and the Furious," he told her, going to the pantry and getting a bag of popcorn.

"I love that movie!" she said excitedly.

Nick looked at her, confused. "Miley, you _hate_ that movie."

"No, I don't," she replied, giving him a look that told him to shut up.

"You guys can watch it with me, if you want," Joe offered, taking the popcorn out of the microwave.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" Miley smiled.

"I thought we were going to the beach," Nick reminded her.

"We can go tomorrow," she promised. "I think I heard it was supposed to rain today, anyways."

Nick sighed heavily, looking out the window; there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"Awesome," Joe said, winking at Miley and walking back to the living room.

Miley's eyes followed him out of the room. "He's cute."

"Oh yeah, he's _adorable_," Nick replied, not trying to hide the annoyed tone of his voice.

She hit his arm playfully. "You know what I mean…"

"Yeah, I do," he sighed, shoving another Oreo in his mouth.

It was hard enough for him to handle when Miley had a crush on any boy…but his own brother? It didn't help that Joe was such a flirt. Miley could start to think that Joe actually liked her, without realizing that he acts that way around any girl. What did Joe have that he didn't, anyways? Nick had always been there for her; he helped her with her homework, held her when she cried, made her laugh…they had a million inside jokes, and they told each other everything. So why didn't she ever look at him the way she had just looked at Joe?

"Come on," Miley whined, pulling on his arm. "We'll miss the movie."

"We wouldn't want that," he said, rolling his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

"Miley, hey…I didn't know you were coming over," Nick smiled when he answered the door.

She looked amazing. Half of her curly hair was pulled back, while the rest framed her perfect face. She wore a red tank top and skinny jeans, showing off her amazing body and causing Nick to have to fight not to wrap his arms around her and never let go.

"Joe didn't tell you?"

He snapped out of his daydream quickly. "What? Joe?"

"Yeah…he asked me if I wanted to go to dinner," Miley grinned.

"And you said _yes_?" he asked, hoping that he would wake up soon.

She laughed. "Of course I said yes, Nicky!"

"Hey, Miley," Joe smiled as he came to the door. "You look great."

"So do you," she blushed.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, definitely," she nodded. "I'll see ya, Nicky."

"Later, bro," Joe said, ruffling his little brother's hair.

"Uh, bye," Nick muttered, completely in shock.

Had that really just happened? He was angry with his brother for not asking him if he was okay with this before asking her out. They had always been close and always talked to each other about girls – all except Miley. Nick couldn't tell his brothers how he felt about her; they would tell him that he's too young to be in love.

Nick closed the door and wandered into the living room, slumping down onto the couch. He grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels, not really paying attention. The only thing he could see was Miley with Joe – holding his hand, curling up under his arm, kissing him…all the things she should be doing with _him_. If he could only tell her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, what's all the whispering about?" Nick asked, approaching Miley and Lilly in front of their lockers.

School seemed to be the only place for the last week that he got to be alone with her, without Joe. She had come over every day after school, and always ended up hanging out with his brother instead of him. Even at school, the most popular conversation topic had been Joe – how funny he was, how cute he was, how smart he was…

"Joe just sent Miley a text!" Lilly said excitedly.

Nick stared at her blankly, waiting for her to get to the exciting part. Apparently that was it. "Wow, awesome."

"Nicky, that's not what's awesome," Miley grinned, taking her friend's hand; his heart skipped a beat. "He asked me out!"

"Out where?"

"Don't be silly!" she smiled. "Like, out! He asked me to be his girlfriend!"

Nick's jaw dropped. He was _not_ hearing this. Not her, not his brother. "What did you say?"

She punched him playfully. "What do you think I said? I said yes!"

He tried to keep his face from showing his feelings. He wanted to scream, to cry, or both at the same time. He had waited too long. He should have told her the day he met her that he wanted to be with her. He should tell her now. The thought danced in his mind briefly, but he was too afraid.

"Are you going to go on a date with him on Saturday? That would be totally cool," Lilly asked.

"Miley, you said we could go to the movies on Saturday, remember?" Nick interrupted.

"I know! I would never break my plans with you!"

He sighed, relieved. "Good."

"Do you think Joe would want to come?" she asked.

Nick bit his lip, trying to keep calm. "I thought it was just going to be you and me…that's what you said…"

"But he's your brother. Don't you want to spend time with him, too?"

_No_, he thought bluntly. Not after this. Right now, he didn't even want to call him his brother. "I live across the hall from him."

"You're so lucky," Lilly told him.

"Nicky…" Miley whined, pouting her bottom lip out and giving him the saddest face he had ever seen.

"Fine, whatever," he said, a little anger showing through. "You know what? Why don't you just go with him? He's your boyfriend, after all. I'll find something else to do."

"Okay," she agreed happily, not picking up on his sarcasm. "Thanks, Nicky. I promise we'll spend some time together soon, just the two of us."

_I won't hold my breath_, he thought, walking towards his classroom without saying goodbye as the warning bell rang.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Nicky," Joe smiled as his little brother walked into the dressing room.

Nick nodded to him, slumping into the chair next to him. The last three months, he'd barely been able to look at Joe. He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to deal with Joe and Miley being together; he missed the days when she wanted to hang out with _him_. When she would call for _him_. Too many times, he'd answered the phone and felt his heart skip a beat at the sound of her voice, just to hear her ask to speak to Joe. The worst part was sitting with her and Lilly at lunch, listening to them talk about how Miley thought she was in love with Joe. _In love_. With his brother. Not him, who had done nothing but treat her the best he could for the past two years. Not him, who couldn't find one thing about her that wasn't perfect. Not him, who fell asleep thinking about her every night.

He glanced at his brother resentfully, but something caught his eye.

"Joe, where's your ring?"

Joe glanced down at his finger, where his purity ring usually rested. "Um, I left it at home."

His tone made Nick suspicious. "Why did you take it off?"

Joe shrugged, picking up his acoustic guitar and plucking it absentmindedly.

Nick felt like he couldn't breathe. He stared at his brother for several moments before saying anything. "Joe…did you sleep with Miley?"

"No," Joe replied, strumming a few more cords. "But I've been thinking about."

"Are you in love with her?" Nick asked, more anger in his voice showing than he had intended. He was having a hard enough time dealing with them dating; if they slept together, he didn't know what he would do.

"I _like_ her…"

Nick stood up abruptly, running his fingers through his hair. He had to say something. He'd never told Miley how he felt, but if he didn't tell Nick right now, he may never get the chance to tell her. "You can't sleep with her, Joe. You_ can't_."

Joe set down his guitar and turned to face his brother. "Look, I know that we made a vow not to, but I think when you're a little older you'll understand."

"Forget about that," Nick said, taking a deep breath. "You can't sleep with her because I love her. I'm in love with her."

"Since when?"

"Do you remember a couple years ago when I asked you how you knew if you were in love, and you and Kev made fun of me for like a month?" he asked.

"That was about _Miley_?"

Nick nodded.

The older boy leaned back in his chair, shocked. He took a moment to process the information. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Nick sunk down onto the couch, resting his face in his hands. "I don't know…I guess when you keep something a secret for so long, it gets really hard to say it."

"I…" Joe started, but his cell phone started vibrating against the countertop. He looked down at it, uncomfortably. "It's Miley."

"I'll leave," Nick said flatly, hurrying out of the room before his brother could protest.

He walked to the end of the hallway and slid down the wall. His life was a mess. What if Joe told Miley? Nick didn't think he would, but things were going to be awkward between him and his brother from now on. He couldn't believe that Joe had thought about sleeping with her; but then again, if Miley had asked Nick to, he would have without a second thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his cell phone. "Hello?"

"Nicky?"

"Miley?" he asked. Her voice was shaky. "What's wrong?"

She sobbed, barely able to speak. "Joe…Joe broke up with me."

"What?" Nick was shocked, but mostly, he was terrified. What had he told her? "Did he…um, did he say why?"

"No," she replied, sniffling. "He just said it wasn't working out."

"Oh," he said, trying to sound sympathetic through his relief.

"Will you come over? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course, I'll be right there," he promised. "I'll see you soon."

"Thanks, Nicky," Miley replied through her tears.

He hung up his cell phone. When he looked up, he saw Joe standing outside the dressing room, leaning against the wall. They made eye contact before Joe walked the other way. Nick stood up and sighed heavily. What was he going to say to her?


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry the chapters are lame and short. I'm just not feeling this storyline for some reason. I'm starting another Joe story but it will be in the Camp Rock category because I'm not using any Hannah Montana characters, so that will be up soon if you're interested. Thanks for reading, my stories are usually way better.**

"Miley, don't cry," Nick said sympathetically when she opened the door, her face streaked with tears.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his neck, sobbing.

"It's okay," he whispered, taking in the scent of her dark hair. It felt so right, his arms around her waist. "Come on."

He led her inside and they sat down on the couch.

"Did he say anything to you?" she asked through her sniffles.

"No," Nick lied. "I'm as surprised as you are."

She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her. "I just don't understand. I thought he liked me."

"Nobody could _not_ like you, Miley," he told her. "Maybe there's something going on with him."

"He said that I only thought I liked him because I was afraid of how I felt about you."

Nick's eyes widened. "What?"

She shrugged. "That's what he said."

He took a deep breath, trying to slow the rapid pace of his heart. She wasn't denying she had feelings for him, but she wasn't admitting it, either. "Do you think there's any truth to that?"

"No," she said quickly. "I mean, you're my best friend. If we felt that way about each other, something would already have happened, right?"

Nick could feel his heart break. "Yeah, I guess so."

Miley sat up and looked at him. He wished he could tell what she was thinking. "Have you ever thought of _me_ that way?"

_Yes_, he thought to himself, _every day of my life_. "Nope."

She curled up under his arm again. "I'll never be happy again."

"That's not true, Miley."

"Yes it is," she insisted. "I loved him."

Nick knew what he had to do, and he knew he would spend the rest of his life hating himself for it. "I have to go. We're in the middle of shooting a video. But I'll call you tonight, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded.

He drove back to the studio quickly, and found Joe in the dressing room. "Call her."

"What?" Joe asked, startled. He hadn't heard his brother come in.

"Call her and ask her to take you back," Nick told him.

Joe stared at his brother, confused. "But you love her."

"I know," Nick said quietly. "And I want her to be happy. She's happy with you, not me."

"Did you tell her how you feel about her?"

"No. I told her I didn't feel anything for her," Nick confessed.

"Why?" Joe asked, not waiting for a response. "I'm not getting back together with her knowing that you love her. I wouldn't do that to you; you're my brother. Go back there and tell her how you feel."

"I can't," Nick insisted.

"If you don't tell her, I will," Joe threatened, grabbing his cell phone from the counter. He started to dial Miley's phone number.

"Stop!" Nick shouted, trying to grab the phone from his brother's hands. "I'll tell her."

"Go, now."

He sighed and hurried back to his car. As he drove he planned out exactly what he was going to say to her. It had to be perfect. This was his only chance. He might lose his best friend because of it.

He knocked on her door anxiously. When she opened it, his mind went blank and he completely forgot what he had been planning on saying.

"Nick, I thought you…"

He didn't let her finish, kissing her gently. She pulled away after a moment, confusion painted on her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

She didn't sound angry, so that gave him confidence. "Miley, I lied earlier. I have never thought of you as just my best friend. I've wanted to tell you how much I love you for so long, but I was afraid that it would freak you out. Joe broke up with you because I told him that I was in love with you. I'm sorry. I know he made you happy, but if you give me the chance, I think I can make you happy, too."

"Happier," she corrected him quietly, a small smile creeping over her face. "I lied, too."

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her passionately. He had waited for so long to be able to, dreamed about it so many nights, and it was even better than he had imagined. He never wanted to let go of her.


End file.
